Chapter 717: The Grandeur of the Mazu Temple

The family walked slowly, chatting and laughing, not in a hurry at all.

The first batch of children probably got out of school. Without even putting down their schoolbags, they rushed toward the Mazu Temple in a swarm.

Adults on the road reminded them that it was already over, but they turned a deaf ear.

This is called "not giving up until you reach the Yellow River." Even if it was over, going for a stroll and taking a look was good; only then would they feel satisfied.

Ye Yaodong and the others watched the students running toward the Mazu Temple in batches, and only stopped when they saw their own group of children.

"What are you running for? Go home and eat."

"It's not dinner time yet, we're going to the Mazu Temple to take a look first."

"There's no one there, and the vendors have all left."

"We still want to go take a look!"

"We're going to find money... mm-mm-mm..."

"Shh, keep it down, don't let others hear, otherwise it'll be picked up by someone else."

"Run, run~"

The children each said a sentence and rushed off in a hurry. Ye Chengyang also ran anxiously behind, calling for them to wait for him.

Ye Yaodong grabbed his back collar, "Why are you following them again?"

"Dad, let me go, I want to go find money too."

"Didn't you already find some?"

"Brother and Sister said there's definitely more!"

"Running around, aren't you tired?"

"Not tired, let me go, I can't keep up..." Ye Chengyang was sweating profusely, twisting and turning, his body leaning forward the whole time.

Ye Yaodong was afraid that if he let go, the little guy would fall face-first onto the ground.

"Stand straight first, then I'll let go."

Ye Chengyang didn't know why he had to stand straight before being let go, but he obeyed and stood straight. As soon as his father let go, he shot forward like a cannonball again.

Ye Yaodong shook his head, "Not one of them can sit still, boys and girls are all the same."

"Isn't that what you said? Only a fool sits still! Don't worry about the little ones, they'll be back when it's dinner time anyway."

"I'm just curious, how much money can they find?"

Lin Xiuqing smiled, "I'm curious too, Yangyang seems to have saved quite a lot of pocket money."

"Mm, he's much smarter than his brother. Chenghu eats whatever he has, nothing left."

"Let's go home."

The liveliness of the Mazu Temple during the day left all the villagers unsatisfied, so as soon as they finished dinner, everyone couldn't wait to run to the Mazu Temple.

They were even more proactive than watching a movie.

Ye Yaodong only realized at night that the three layers of people during the day weren't many at all; the sea of people at night was what you called many.

He guessed that not only had people from the surrounding villages come, but even people from the town had come to their village to watch the opera. After all, some people still had to work during the day, but they had plenty of free time at night.

In this day and age, not only were activities rare in rural areas, but it was also hard to have operas in cities and towns. Once the word got out, people were willing to walk ten miles to get there.

"Damn, so many people! Even the market doesn't have this many people!"

Ye Yaodong had just arranged for his wife, children, and the old lady to sit down and stood at the very edge, wanting to find his friends, when he saw people continuously pouring into the Mazu Temple.

Even the main hall of the Mazu Temple and the high corridors were packed with dense crowds; it could be said to be an unprecedented grand occasion.

Suddenly, he felt a bit worried about his home.

With so many people from outside the village running in, and the village itself empty, the five militia squads wandering around were bound to have oversights.

Moreover, there were only those few houses by the beach, and the militia squad might not necessarily make a point of patrolling there often; they might even skip it a few times.

He checked his watch; there was still an hour before the start. Standing here was just standing around. After thinking about it, he gave A-Qing a word and squeezed his way out.

He didn't know who was on patrol today, but he planned to go out and take a look, then tell them to patrol by their beach more often.

Whether he was familiar with them or not, they were all from the same village. As long as the relationship wasn't too bad, if he asked, the villagers would always give him some face.

And he felt that with his current level of fame, he should have some influence. If he went to say hello, people would take it to heart and patrol their beach more, which would increase the safety factor.

With people from outside villages everywhere, it would be a miracle if there weren't any opportunists. It was hard to commit crimes in broad daylight, but the dark of night was most suitable for taking action. He guessed that the idlers and thieves from the surrounding villages wouldn't miss this opportunity and were just waiting for the right moment.

Going to say hello was quite necessary.

Facts proved he was quite wise.

Walking out of the Mazu Temple and into the village, he could clearly feel two extremes.

The Mazu Temple was a sea of people, the noise almost shaking the sky, while the village was pitch black and quiet everywhere. And when he was looking for the militia squad, he saw many strange idlers with their hands in their pockets, wandering around and looking about.

He looked them over a few times, and they glared back at him impolitely, almost causing a conflict.

"Don't you know whose territory this is? You outsiders dare to be so arrogant? Believe it or not, I can call a group of people to surround you all with just a few shouts, and you won't be able to leave tonight!"

"Don't be arrogant, kid, there will be a day when you're unlucky..."

"Try it, see who's unlucky. Say one more word, and see if you can walk out tonight!"

In his own village, who was afraid of whom?

The other party pointed his index finger at him and wanted to say something else, but his companion pulled him away, and they quickly ducked into an alley.

And the militia squad had just assembled and set out. Hearing the commotion, they hurried over.

Ye Yaodong saw that the leader was Chen Shuji's son, and felt relieved; it was a matter of one sentence.

"Adong? What happened just now?"

"Nothing, a few idlers from outside the village were wandering around. I found them suspicious and argued a bit. You guys pay more attention when you patrol later. It definitely won't be peaceful tonight. People from everywhere are crowding into our village. It's not completely dark yet, so those with ideas are definitely scouting."

"That's for sure."

"Please patrol the beach side a few more times. There are few houses there, and it's far from the village. I'm afraid you'll overlook it."

As he spoke, he took out the cigarettes from his pocket and handed two to each person. A box of 20 was just enough to share.

Everyone took the cigarettes; some tucked them behind their ears, some put them in their own cigarette cases, some put them directly in their mouths, and some clamped them between their fingers. They all nodded and agreed with a smile.

"No problem, no problem, we'll definitely go more often..."

"Small matter, we'll definitely go patrol your side a few more times."

"I'll tell the other squads later to patrol your side more."

Ye Yaodong nodded with a smile, "Then thank you very much, sorry for the trouble."

"No trouble, small matter."

"Alright, alright, then I won't delay your patrol. I guess there will be quite a few petty thieves."

"Can't help it, it's rare for the village to hold such a big event; it's never been this lively."

"Mm..."

After saying a few words, they went to work. It wasn't dark yet, and there were already strangers walking around the village. If it were dark, there would definitely be more demons and monsters.

Ye Yaodong took a turn and saw two more. Feeling uneasy, he walked toward his house, just in time to see someone walking past him, cursing.

"Whose family raises so many dogs, Lin Mu, damn it, sooner or later I'll trap them and eat dog meat..."

He turned his head and glared at the back of the man's head. He didn't have a brick in his hand, otherwise, he would have smashed it on him.

However, no brick, but he had dogs!

He walked a few steps quickly and opened the courtyard gate. Instantly, a group of dogs surrounded him, trying to jump on him—a unique welcome that almost overwhelmed him.

"Go, go, go, don't climb on me, you're filthy. All of you, come out, come out! See that man in front? Charge at him and bite him for me! He said he wants to trap you all and eat dog meat!"

"Woof woof woof~"

The Woof Squad sets out!

A group of dogs barked and bared their fangs as they charged forward. The man who had been cursing heard the barking of so many dogs behind him, and they were all charging at him, so he was scared and turned to run.

But how could two legs outrun four?

Before he could take two steps, he was surrounded and beaten. The dogs hung all over him, biting his legs, biting his hands, biting his clothes. The man was in pain, baring his teeth, but he couldn't shake them off and couldn't outrun them, so he could only move forward while screaming.

The man-dog battle lasted for more than ten minutes. The man's pants were bitten into rags, and his legs had many red scratches and tooth marks.

In the end, he couldn't even save his pants; the back of his boxers had a big hole, exposing a piece of his white butt, and his clothes were also in tatters. Only then, under Ye Yaodong's mercy, did he crawl away staggeringly.

The dogs ran back excitedly. Some even performed standing on two legs, and some circled around him. Ye Yaodong felt very gratified; they hadn't been raised for nothing.

"You performed very well! Tomorrow I'll reward you with meat bones. Go back, remember to watch the house well these few days, you know?"

"Woof woof~"

"Woof woof woof~"

Ye Yaodong went into the house, took a look around, and came out again.

After telling a few dogs again to watch the house well, he locked the courtyard gate again and headed to the Mazu Temple.

He felt that the village definitely wouldn't be safe these few days, so he'd better not join in the fun.

Anyway, he didn't like watching operas. He would go pick up Ye Xiaoxi now and watch her at home. A-Qing could take the old lady and the two little ones to watch the opera.

That would be safer.

Anyway, Ye Xiaoxi was so small, staying there would only tire A-Qing out.

The opera at night would go until 9:30. The child might get sleepy, so leaving her at home for him to watch would be better.

It was difficult to squeeze out before, but now there were even more people. The opera had already started, making it even harder to squeeze in.

Even the entrance was full of people sitting. Those who came late couldn't squeeze in to see, but sitting at the entrance to listen was also satisfying; they couldn't have come all this way for nothing.

There were fewer children running and jumping around the entrance, don't know if they were caught by their parents; after all, night was different from day.

Ye Yaodong squeezed for a long time, his ears filled with curses, the villagers complaining. It took a great deal of effort for him to squeeze back to his original position. Never mind sweat, he almost squeezed out his poop.

He stood in place, panting while looking for his wife and children, seeing that they were all sitting there safely, even Ye Chenghu and Ye Chengyang were sitting there obediently at night, not running around.

Don't know if it was because there were too many people at night, they couldn't run even if they wanted to, so they were forced to sit.

Anyway, as long as they weren't running around.

He called out to them loudly and shouted for A-Qing to ask the people next to them to help, passing Ye Xiaoxi out one by one for him to take back.

Not having to hold one in his arms, Lin Xiuqing was naturally more than happy.